Rail bond



C. H. MEAD April 10, 1934.

RAIL BOND Filed Dec. 1, 1931 Invenfor Patented Apr. 10, 1934 1 1,954,393

UNITED STATE PATENT RAIL BOND Charles H. Mead, Beckley, W. Va.

Application December 1, 1931, Serial No. 578,372

2 Claims. (01. 1732'78) 7 This invention relates to an improved elecheads of the sections 4 and 5 while the terminals tric-ity conducting connector for railway rails 9 and are left free of anchorage or connection, such as is generally referred to in the trade and thereby providing a sort of a composite conductor the art as a bond. between the terminals '7 and 8. In other words, 7

5 It is a matter of common knowledge that the this conductor is actually made up of the main 60 ordinary rail bond is a simple device consisting conductor strap 13, the short webs 11 and 12, and of a pair of longitudinally spaced terminals indithe intermediate terminals 9 and 10. vidually welded or otherwise fixedly connected Assuming now that the rail section 4 is damaged with the adjacent ends of companion rails, toand needs to be replaced, it is obvious that the 10 gether with a connecting strap of electricity conwelded terminal '7 is then severed while the ter- 65\ ducting properties. Manifestly then, when a deminal 9 is left temporarily unaltered. Then the vice of this type is removed for rail repair pursubstitute rail section is slipped in place and the poses the terminals are severed from the respecterminal '7 is discarded by severing the web 11 in tive rail-ends and because of the disruptible charorder to bring the next adjacent terminal 9 into 15 acteristics of the bond it is generally scrapped position for convenient usage. 70" and ready for the junkpile. In any event, it is This terminal 9 is welded to the substitute rail. rarely if ever re-used for the reason that it is Assuming then that it becomes necessary to renot regarded as an efrlcient bond after having place the rail 5 at a later date the operatives are once been used. instructed to leave the terminal 10 untouched The present inventive conception comprehends and simply break the terminal 8 loose and to 75- a new and novel rail bond characterized by inner cut the web 12 and throw the terminal 8 away. and outer sets or pairs of anchoring terminals This then brin t terminal 10 i ad ess fo with conduction connectors therebetween formuse so that now the two inner secondary terminals ing a multiple terminal device designed to better 9 and 10 are used while the terminals '7 and 8 have fulfill the requirements of an article of this class been previously discarded in proper order of time. 80

because of the secondary utility of features em- Consequently the single bond has a novel triple bodied therein. period of usage becauseof the successive steps In the drawing: already pointed out. Of course if both sections Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a bond 4 a 5 e p a d a t Sa e time bot terconstructed in accordance with the present inminals 7 and 8 are out off and the inner terminals 85 vention. 9 and 10 are then brought into play.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of Figure 1. The gist of the invention is in the provision Figure 3 is a transverse vertical section on the of a multiple terminal q pp rail bO line 3-3 of Figure 1. eluding a pair of simultaneously usable primary In the drawing, the rail ends or sections are ter together W a P Of o ry 0- 9'0' designated by the numerals 4 and 5 respectively, cessively or simultaneously usable inner termiwhile the improved device as a whole is distinnals normally free of connection with the rails at guished by the numeral 6. This possesses comthe initial installation, plus the short connecting mon characteristics of an ordinary rail bond in webs 11 and 12, and a normal length connecting the sense that it embodies a pair of longitudinally strap or web 13 between the terminals 9 and 10. 5 spaced primary terminals 7 and 8 adapted to be Admittedly then, this single simple and efficient welded or otherwise permanently anchored on device affords a novel contribution to the trade the rail sections 4 and 5 as indicated in Figure 1. and the art calculated to better fulfill the re- Ihese terminals 7 and 8 are however joined to quirements of an article of this class because of an inner pair of longitudinally spaced secondary the features and advantages previously pointed 1 terminals 9 and 10 through the medium of short out and the added convenience of expeditious connecting webs l1 and 12, the webs 11 and 12 usage and economy. being composed of electricity conducting mate- It is thought from the foregoing description rials. Then the two terminals 9 and 10 are that the advantages and novel features of the in- 59 joined by an intermediate strap-like conductor vention will be readily apparent. It is to be un- 5 13 of appropriate dimension a d length, derstood that changes may be made in the con- The distinguishable sets of terminals may be struction and in the combination and arrangeemployed in different ways, but are preferably ment of the several parts provided that such used in the following manner. The two primary changes fall within the scope of the appended terminals 7 and 8 are initially welded to the rail claims.

I claim:

1. In combination, railway rails arranged end to end, and a bond for electrically connecting the rails, comprising conductive terminals fastened to the rails, and an electrical connection between said terminals including intermediate terminals spaced from the first-named terminals and di rectly disconnected from the rails, conductive webs between the first-named terminals and the intermediate terminals and adapted to be readily severed, and a conductor extending between and connecting the intermediate terminals, said intermediate terminals adapted to be attached to other rails subsequently to the severance of the webs and the detachment of the first-named terminals from the first-named rails and also from said electrical connection. 

